Killings linked to cult activities, says Yama

By DOROTHY MARK
MADANG Governor Peter Yama believes the gruesome killing of people in Transgogol are linked to Black Jesus cult activities which have been creating terror there for some time.
Yama said cult practices were well known in parts of Ambenob and Transgogol led by the man named Black Jesus – Steven Nangimon Garasai Tari. He was eventually killed in 2014. Yama said he had received information that the gang going around beheading people and involved in barbaric killings were possessed by “satanic powers”.
He has requested Madang police commander Chief Inspector Ben Neneo to provide the provincial government information so that an extensive police operation can begin to include officers from outside the province.
“These are not normal killings. The suspects possess satanic powers that control them,” he said.
Yama said the head of the Bau Primary School teacher killed in 2014 was handed to him a week after his death. He then began to understand what the gang members were up to.
He said it would be foolish for police to walk into the area just yet.
“We have to weigh out the situation with the information we have, plan well and target the killers at the right time. They will not escape because they have blood on their hands,” Yama said.
Neneo said police needed relatives of those killed to lodge an official complaint.
“People are always scared to be witnesses and provide statements to assist because they could become the next targets for the killers,” he said.